Comfort Food in the heart of J-Town: Tanuki Restaurant

Chicken wings @Tanuki

I had been craving Japanese food recently so the fam and I went to J-town in Markham to get many things, well, Japanese. We made a point to time our outing so we can have brunch at Tanuki. And boy, we were ever so glad we decided to check this place out! While the interiors were modern and bright, we decided to make the most of patio dining. They have an alternating menu for brunch, and everything looked so good, it was hard to choose! 

 They made the menu item names fun (although a bit too long for me to ever remember). DD#1 and DD#2 shared the “Memories of Harambe Tonkatsu Curry” (see what I mean?). The crispy pork cutlet was tender, juicy and perfectly crisp. It had a generous dousing of house curry and drizzled with kewpie (Japanese mayo) and bulldog sauce (tonkatsu sauce). It also came with a serving of rice. DD#1 claims she can eat this every day! 

Tonkatsu @Tanuki

Grandma got the “Gentle Blade Omurice” which was a soft omelet on chicken fried rice with salted duck egg. Well, of course, I had a taste! The omelet was light and fluffy and the chicken fried rice was very flavourful. While it was good, it wasn’t the winner for us. 

Omurice @Tanuki

 Hubby got what became the family favourite for this brunch—“Buddha Palm Pig Knuckle.” The pig knuckle was packed with meat despite the bone and beautifully braised in shoyu. The egg was nicely soft boiled and there was habanero hot sauce on the side. The shoyu braise had the right balance of sweetness and saltiness. It was the perfect comfort food! It was hard not to eat more rice even if it was just the sauce! 

Braised Pork Knuckles @Tanuki

 I had an equally delicious and hefty serving of “Getting into a Sticky Situation Keishi Chicken Wings.” Do you still remember the name of the first dish without going back? The chicken wings were crispy fried with shishito peppers on a bed of fries. Y.U.M. Love their marinade! This one is now way up there with Buffalo Wings in my books! 

Chicken Wings @Tanuki

I think Tanuki perfectly hit the spot in focusing on comfort food with a modern twist. The food was amazing and service was pleasant. There is so much more I would like to try and we will definitely be back! This is now our favourite non-sushi Japanese resto! Love it!